Being Present with God – Day Four

I hope you’ve been enjoying this series on hearing God. So far, this week, we’ve talked about being present with God and hearing Him speak through spiritual exercises, reading Scripture and prayer. If you missed the rest of the series, check them out here.

One of the recent lessons I learned about being present with God came in Vancouver, Canada last week. I was there with another staff member from my church, meeting with church planters there. We were talking about a long-term partnership between our church and that city, involving sending teams on short-term trips beginning next year. Out of my routine and with a completely different kind of scenery, I had a change of perspective. I sensed God’s presence in a new way. I’ve been a long-time believer in Mark Batterson’s mantra – “change of place + change of pace = change of perspective”. Our pace in Vancouver was actually faster than life in Phoenix, but when combined with the change of place, I experienced that change in perspective. I realized that I need to change up my rhythm every now and then to keep things fresh.

For some of us, doing the same thing day in and day out brings continuity and consistency. For others, we run the risk of stagnation and staleness when we let things go forward for too long without shaking things up.

Being present with God can mean different things in different seasons. It can mean experimenting with something you’ve never done up until now. Being present with God can mean abandoning the familiar and comfortable for the unknown and uncomfortable.

Have you ever given up your routine for something different and encountered God in a fresh way? If so, I would love for you to share your story below.